KENNESAW, Ga. (Oct. 15, 2012) – Coming off a successful five-game homestand, the ETSU volleyball team now hits the road for four straight contests, beginning Tuesday night at Kennesaw State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. inside the KSU Convocation Center.

ETSU (15-8, 6-3) – who won four of its five games on the season-long home stint – enjoyed a perfect week as the Bucs went 3-0 with wins over Mercer (3-1), Jacksonville (3-0), and North Florida (3-1). For the week, the Blue and Gold hit .255 (149-51-385) and averaged 13.55 kills, 12.82 assists, and 15.64 digs per set. Junior Megan Devine (Kingsport, Tenn.) generated a pair of double-doubles after finishing with 21 kills and a career high 26 digs in the win over Mercer, while adding 13 kills, 11 digs, and a career best seven blocks Saturday against UNF. Sophomore Meredith Hardy (Kingsport, Tenn.) enjoyed an outstanding week as she tallied 32 kills and 21 blocks in the three matches, and fellow sophomore Jamie Rutledge (Kingsport, Tenn.) provided 11.73 assists per set.

LAST TIME OUT

The Bucs put the finishing touches on a victorious homestand by rallying past North Florida, 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 26-24), on Saturday afternoon in Brooks Gym. ETSU extended its winning streak to three straight by holding the Ospreys to a .117 hitting percentage and out-blocking North Florida, 17-6. Devine posted her conference-leading 14th double-double of the season (13 kills/11 digs) and also finished with a career-best seven blocks. In addition, Hardy totaled her second double-double of the year after registering 12 kills and 10 blocks, while Rutledge, and Bethany Gesell (High Point, N.C.) added strong efforts in the four-set win. Rutledge recorded 40 assists, seven digs, and four blocks, and Gesell tallied 10 kills and four blocks.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

Kennesaw State has won three of its last five matches, but the Owls are coming off back-to-back losses against USC Upstate (0-3) and Mercer (2-3). The Owls are led by Preseason Libero of the Year selection, Camille Pedraza, as she is averaging 4.48 digs per set, which ranks third in the A-Sun. Meanwhile, Turea Jones leads Kennesaw State in kills per set (3.14) and Sara Metroka is the leader in assists per set (10.76). Metroka ranks third in the A-Sun in assists and Jones is 10th in kills per set. As a team, the Owls rank second in the league with 1.42 aces per set and are third behind the Bucs in hitting percentage (.214).

SERIES HISTORY

Tuesday night is a rematch of last year’s A-Sun Quarterfinal game where the Bucs rallied from two sets down to pull off a thrilling five set win inside Lipscomb’s Allen Arena. Sophomore Ivey Rice (Johnson City, Tenn.) finished with a career high 22 kills and a .455 attack percentage, while senior Kayla Williams (El Paso, Texas) also generated a career best 55 assists in the win. Devine ended with a double-double 20-kills, 14-digs and Hardy provided 10 kills and six blocks.

Overall, ETSU leads the all-time series, 7-4, and the Bucs have won three of the last four meetings.

COVERAGE

Tuesday’s match will be streamed live online free of charge on ASun.TV, while live stats will be provided via KSUOwls.com. Fans can also receive updates on Twitter by following @ETSUAthletics.

NOTES

ETSU’s 17 blocks versus North Florida on Saturday were one shy of tying a season high, which the Bucs have done twice this season … the Bucs recorded an A-Sun best 18 blocks against Presbyterian (8/28) and Stetson (9/29)

During this three-game winning streak, the Blue and Gold are hitting .262 (207-72-515), while holding the opposition to a .142 clip (186-106-564) … meanwhile, ETSU is averaging 13.8 kills, 13.1 assists, 15.6 digs, and 2.8 blocks per set in the last three matches, compared to the opponents posting 12.4 kills, 11.6 assists, 13.2 digs, and 2.1 blocks per set

Megan Devine has played in 87 straight matches and is averaging a double-double in 47 percent of those games

Meredith Hardy has recorded at least one block in 49 consecutive matches and also has at least one block in all but one of her 52 games played

Megan Devine is four kills shy of moving past Jessica Manchester (1992-95) for fifth all-time in ETSU history … the Kingsport, Tenn. native enters Tuesday's game with 1,204 career kills

Sophomore Katie Muey (Alexandria, Ind.) leads the A-Sun in service aces per set (0.38) in conference matches

Bethany Gesell has registered double figures in kills in three straight matches and in four of the last five outings

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